There are obviously massive spoilers ahead for The Last of Us Episode 3. This post also contains mentions of suicide.
I'm sure by now you've seen that everyone is simply obsessed (and emotional) over The Last of Us. Namely, the most recent episode — titled "Long, Long Time" — starring Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett.
This episode followed Bill (Offerman) and Frank's (Bartlett) beautiful love story as it played out over the course of several years. They survived the end of the world by finding each other, and it was incredible, touching, and heartbreaking.
While Bill and Frank are both characters in The Last of Us video games, this episode expanded their story and marked one of the first big story changes for the TV adaptation so far.
While the whole episode has several moments that made everyone cry — I legit can't listen to Linda Ronstadt's "Long, Long Time" without bursting into tears now — it was the final scenes between Bill and Frank that really struck a chord with viewers.
As the episode comes to a close, Frank decides to die by suicide as his heath deteriorates, so he and Bill spend one last perfect day together, which includes getting married.
Then, during their final meal together — which is a callback to the first dinner they shared — Bill reveals he's ready to die too because he's lived a good life and can't imagine a world without Frank.
While literally the entire world was crying over Bill and Frank, apparently Murray's real-life partner had his own emotional reaction.
During a roundtable interview with the Independent, Murray discussed how his partner was taken aback when it flashed to Bill and Frank much older.
"I will say, my partner, who I watched the episode with, was really affected by it," Murray began. "He turned to me at the end and was like, 'I don’t want you to get sick.'"
Murray continued, saying, "He really internalized it and obviously had trouble separating with the fact that he was watching me in a TV show, which I think is a good sign."
"Not a good sign about me possibly getting sick as an old man [laughs] but the integrity of the work was powerful for him."
Murray has kept his personal life pretty private, but during his 2022 Emmy Award acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his work in The White Lotus, he thanked his partner Matt.
In the same interview with the Independent, Murray and Nick gave a shoutout to the incredible hair and makeup department on The Last of Us, who helped elevate their awardworthy performances.
"Man, they just did such an extraordinary job," Murray said. And Nick added, "[These artists are] pouring over us with brush and glue and paint and powder and sawdust and spit and bubblegum for hours creating these masterpieces. And, if they've done their jobs correctly, you don't see it, it's invisible. ... I wish that they were more celebrated because they make us look incredible and nobody ever knows all of that work that goes into it."
Alongside Murray's partner's reaction to this The Last of Us episode, Nick revealed in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that his "incredible goddess of a wife" Megan Mullally was also struck by how amazing the story was and convinced him to take the job in the first place.
I'm obsessed that this episode of The Last of Us not only meant so much to all of the fans, but Murray, Nick, and their partners.
